


Grey Slate

by ComposerEgg



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen, Homelessness, Parallel Universes, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 20:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16182857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComposerEgg/pseuds/ComposerEgg
Summary: “Don’t do it.”Joshua flinches at the sound of the voice, back hitting the foot of the couch. The gun in hand, safety still onthank god, falls to the floor with a dull thud. The figure in front of him bends down and scoops up the weapon.Joshua's path changes when he meets himself. Neku's path continues on when an angel visits him in a fevered haze





	Grey Slate

“Don’t do it.”

Joshua flinches at the sound of the voice, back hitting the foot of the couch. The gun in hand, safety still on _thank god_ , falls to the floor with a dull thud. The figure in front of him bends down and scoops up the weapon.

The Echoes have never been this strong before. Future rippling into the past and giving him cues. His own Music playing out before his ears, as he stares up at the version of him who looks _older,_ and yet physically the same.

Eyes meet, before his own dart away. “And why _not_? It looks like it worked out fine for you.”

The other Joshua, Yoshiya, sighs, and sits in front of him, cross-legged on the carpet. “The plan, become Composer? Yeah, it worked, but there’s a price you’d pay.”

“I’m more than willing to pay my Fee,” he says, biting back a hiss. “You of all people should know what my life is like!”

“I know, I know, but…” Yoshiya sighs. “Being Composer? It’s lonely. The sensory overload is manageable, but you don’t have _anyone_. And what you need, what I needed… It was a friend, it was someone who understood me, who meshed well. Mr. Hanekoma makes a decent dad, but not a true friend.”

The other’s face is wistful, a sigh escaping his mouth. “What happened?” he asks, curiosity bubbling against his skin.

“Well,” Yoshiya laughs, “I can’t tell you _everything_ , but… There’s this boy. I fucked up, I hurt him _bad_. Put him through hell, wanted him to replace me, and… Even after all of that, he still chose to be my friend, still trusts me completely. He knows everything, and he sees _me_.”

It’s so foreign, seeing such emotions play against his own face. Longing etched into the crows-feet at his eyes. “Who…?”

Yoshiya shakes his head, a huff blowing hair out of his face. “His name is Neku. Neku Sakuraba. He’s important. I hurt him, I was awful in unforgivable ways, but even after that, he trusts me. He helped me. He can help you, and you can help him. Whatever gets you to meet him, it’s worth it. He’s worth it.”

“Except becoming Composer?” If it worked so well for Yoshiya, it’d work for him, but…

“You don’t need to do that. You’ll find him, I know you will, and once you do, you’ll understand.” Yoshiya taps his knuckles against the floor a couple times, before standing and stretching out. Music flows from him, cascading down, all jumbled up and run through filters and mixed with Shibuya.

“If I could trade immortality away, if I could grow old and travel with him, I would do whatever it took to obtain that. I would choose him over Shibuya and a lonely eternal existence in a heartbeat. It’s a curse, being forced to watch the ones you care about age, and leave, and die.” Turning to face the window, Josh catches a shimmer of a tear not yet shed.

“Don’t make the same mistakes I made, kiddo.”

Joshua is left alone, air heavy with ripple-effect and white, angelic feathers floating lazily to the ground. And without a gun.

* * *

 

Yoshiya--Joshua, that is, sits on a rooftop. The hint of wings are splayed out behind him, shadows tracing the air as he watches the streets below.

The alley below.

A redhead with old headphones is huddled away, fire burning in his soul and fever burning his skin. There’s not enough blanket on this cold post-Christmas day for the homeless teen to reasonably be fine, and there’s no way he’d get away with stealing things like _this_.

Well, the Joshua of this universe won’t be able to meet his Neku when he’s in this state.

Josh hops off the building, descending, flickers of white catching Neku’s eye. And maybe the boy is closer to death’s door than he thought, if he can eye the wings so intently.

“I’m hallucinating you. Go away. Fever haze or something.”

Josh laughs, and plucks a feather, threading it onto a piece of string pulled from the air. Neku can’t do much as he slips it over his head, nearly getting caught on the headphones, too sick to put up a fight. “A simple good luck charm. You can’t go and die yet, there’s still so much for you to do. So much life left to live.”

A swipe of his hand, and he leeches the fever from Neku. Drains the disease, siphoning it away and eradicating the germs once freed from the body.

Let Neku think of this as a simple fever dream, if he wants. With the sickness gone, Neku slips into sleep with ease, the protective charm a nice weight on his chest.

Joshua closes his eyes, and pulls at the seams in reality. He really shouldn’t dawdle here, his own Shibuya calls.

When he steps back into it, after the dive, she curls around him like an excited puppy, happy to see her owner again.

Lush green grass cushions his fall, as he rests his head against the cold, grey stone behind him.

“Hey, Neku, do you think I helped them enough?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a drabble for an rp I do with my lovely friend [morty](https://shibuyacrossed.tumblr.com/). They're rad. They have a verse where Neku is homeless and this is in that
> 
> If you like this, drop me a comment and kudos below!
> 
> [For statements about transformative works based on mine and concrit, along with where to find me, check out my profile page linked here!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComposerEgg/profile)  
> (summary: I love everything people do based of my works and wanna know!)
> 
> [For info about my twewy discord server (including rules accessible outside the server itself) check out this link!](http://composeregg.tumblr.com/twewy-discord)


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